How do you stand out as an audio engineer when you’re just starting out in the industry?
Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets preparation.
There isn’t one way to get started, so you just need to do as much as you can and something will stick, because there is no shortage of opportunity. You just have to constantly be there doing what you need to do to get in the room. For some people, this can mean working at the coffee shop adjacent to the building, mail room, or just showing up for no reason at all – just get in the room.
I did an interview with multi-Emmy and Grammy Award recipient, Tommy Vicari, and in the 1960’s he was just starting out as an engineer. He submitted his resume to a studio that pretty much told him he didn’t have a good chance of getting a job with how much competition there was out there. Tommy then decided to get a job in the mailroom of the building the studio was located in, that way he could at least become a familiar face to those working there and over a long period of time was able to “unofficially” assist with some of the work they were doing in the studio.
Then there came a day that the engineer called in sick, and since Tommy was assisting him “unofficially”, they asked if he could try and step in since they needed someone to cover the job.
And this wasn’t like this band was an A-list band or it turned into a number one record or anything like that, but it was a first step. He proved that he could do the job and now the studio had someone they could call when they needed someone to fill in for a job; it was the first step of many in establishing his career.
Although this may only be the beginning, getting in the room is a very important part for all engineers starting their career.
Watch the video below to learn more about standing out and getting started as an audio engineer!
